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Thomas Zachariah Glazer was born in Philadelphia on 2 September 1914 to Russian émigré parents from Minsk. His father, a carpenter in a shipyard, died during the 1918 flu pandemic, and Glazer was brought up by a series of relatives before being placed in the Hebrew Orphan Home in Philadelphia with his two brothers; his younger brother Sidney Glazier became a producer, most notably of Mel Brooks' The Producers.[1][2][3] Their father's record collection influenced Glazer musically, and at school he learned to play the tuba, guitar and bass. At 17, he hitchhiked to New York, where he took night courses to complete his education while working at Macy's during the day.[1] He subsequently attended City College of New York for three years.[2]

Glazer was married to Miriam Reed Eisenberg with whom he had two sons. The marriage ended in divorce in 1974.[1][2]

Glazer recorded a number of children's records in the late 1940s and early 1950s with Young People's Records, Inc. These included When I Grow Up,The Chugging Freight Engine, and Come to the Fair.[citation needed] In the 1960s he hosted a weekly children's show on WQXR radio in New York.[2]

Glazer, with Dottie Evans, recorded three children's records in 1959 and 1960 that were part of a six-album set known as Ballads for the Age of Science.[4] They contained songs intended to explain science concepts for young children, all of which were written by Hy Zaret (lyrics) and Lou Singer (music). One of these albums, Space Songs, included the song "Why Does the Sun Shine?" which was later covered by They Might Be Giants.

Glazer was to become ambivalent towards his creation. He was to fantasize that "I'm standing in line before the Pearly Gates in the musicians' line, in which I stand last. When I'm asked what have I done in music and I say I wrote 'On Top of Spaghetti', I'm told, "Sorry, buster, you can't enter."[1] In 2008, Smithsonian Folkways released Tom Glazer Sings Honk-Hiss-Tweet-GGGGGGGGGG and Other Children's Favorites, a collection of Glazer's live performances.

Glazer died at his home in Rochester on February 21, 2003 at the age of 88.[2]